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This round of golf is not about the score, it is a gathering of individuals committed to...Read more >
The Cancer Institute of New Jersey (CINJ) is the state’s first and only National Cancer...Read more >The LIFE Event (LPGA Pros in the Fight to Eradicate Breast Cancer) mission is to continue to help eradicate breast cancer as a life-threatening disease, while reaching out to a younger generation of women and providing them with information about the importance of early detection and healthy breast care practices.
The 2008 LIFE Event was held on May 19 at the historic Ridgewood Country Club in Paramus, N.J., home of the Barclays PGA Tour event. The ninth-annual event drew approximately 30 stars from the LPGA, as the pros came together to support the Val Skinner Foundation’s passionate fight to end breast cancer as a life-threatening disease. World No.1, Lorena Ochoa; Hall of Fame members, Beth Daniel and Karrie Webb; and top-ranked players such as Morgan Pressel, Angela Stanford, Brittany Lincicome, Nicole Castrale and Sherri Steinhauer were a few of the players in this year’s field.
The LIFE Event, still noted as the biggest single-day golf event fundraiser for breast cancer initiatives, raised another $500,000 for breast cancer research, awareness and prevention programs. Beneficiaries include Susan G. Komen for the Cure and the Cancer Institute of New Jersey (CINJ).
Key programs funded by LIFE include Susan G. Komen for the Cure’s nationwide initiative, Komen On the Go, an interactive tour that travels to community events and universities across the U.S., conveying life-saving information about breast cancer. The LIFE Center at CINJ is dedicated to teaching young women how to maintain breast health and reduce the factors that increase their risk of breast cancer. Researchers and medical professionals at the LIFE Center are dedicated to improving young women's understanding of their risk to develop breast cancer and their knowledge of appropriate prevention and screening strategies.
Also funded by LIFE is CINJ’s Tox Rap program, a post-doctoral LIFE Fellowship that focuses on the implementation of a high school biology curriculum that teaches genetics using breast cancer as its focus. The Tox Rap pilot program is currently being implemented in 23 New Jersey area schools and will be launched this fall in South Carolina as part of LIFE in the South’s effort to move the program to a national platform.
The tournament was followed by a reception that highlighted these innovative programs supported by LIFE and featured the announcement of the 2008 LIFE heroes, honoring individuals who have shown courage throughout their personal experiences and battles with breast cancer.
LIFE Event partners include: the Joe Plumeri Family, Merrill Lynch, Emblem Health, Guy Carpenter, QualCare and Roche. Other notable supporters are: Assured Guaranty, Commerce Bank, The ACE Group, Ortho Biotech, Citigroup Smith Barney, Marsh, New Smith, GUND, Inc. and Lincoln Mercury.
Founded and led by Skinner, the LIFE Event benefits Susan G. Komen for the Cure, the LPGA’s official national charity and largest private backer of breast cancer research and education and the New Brunswick-based Cancer Institute of New Jersey (CINJ), a National Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive cancer center.
Together, Skinner and these beneficiaries, who share the common goal of eliminating breast cancer as a life-threatening disease, created the “Young Women’s Initiative” — a multifaceted approach to educating young women and other audiences about the risks associated with breast cancer and the importance of early detection. Komen and CINJ programs, funded by LIFE, move this initiative forward.
A second LIFE Series event, LIFE in the South, will be held on September 22 in Hilton Head, S.C., which will raise an additional $500,000 for the cause. Collectively both events will bring the first LIFE $1 million annual donation to the cause.
In addition to the LIFE tournament, the event will also again host LIFE Lessons, a clinic for event partners and guests who are new to the game of golf. LIFE Lessons will be conducted by award winning PGA instructors, Dom DiJulia and Pamela Cunningham. The clinic will be held from 10:15 a.m. – 12:45 p.m.
Dom DiJulia is a golf magazine top-100 teacher, a Golf Digest top 20 under 40, two-time Philly section Teacher of the Year and a PGA Master Professional who, in 2007, won the prestigious Horton Smith Award. DiJulia’s approach to teaching golf connects with all skill levels. He believes in an informative but transferable form of communication to help students get better faster.
Pamela Cunningham is a PGA Class “A” Golf Professional. She holds the distinction of becoming the first female Director of Golf in the Met PGA section. Cunningham developed a reputation as a highly sought after teaching professional while working at Stratton Mountain Golf School, Sleepy Hollow CC and Hampshire CC. Cunningham has amassed her extensive knowledge about teaching and the golf swing by training with some of the country’s most well respected instructors, Mike Adams, Keith Lyford and Gary Wiren. She believes in an individualized approach to teaching, “a good teacher knows how to apply her knowledge in a way that makes sense to each individual student.” She has also taught numerous tour professionals, developed corporate clinics and golf schools and conducted numerous junior clinics.